


Practicum

by water_bby



Category: Naruto
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Space, Community: kakairu_fest, KakaIru Fest Summer 2013, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-09-01
Updated: 2013-09-01
Packaged: 2017-12-25 06:26:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,790
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/949749
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/water_bby/pseuds/water_bby
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Iruka likes his life--he's doing his student teaching and taking shifts in Ops. Today's stint, however, involves an ace pilot named Hatake Kakashi.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Practicum

**Author's Note:**

> Written for Team AU for the Summer 2013 [](http://kakairu-fest.livejournal.com/profile)[](http://kakairu-fest.livejournal.com/)**kakairu_fest**

Iruka rushed onto the bridge of the _Konoha_ after his shift as a student teacher. He bowed quickly when the Hokage nodded at him, a bit flustered at actually having the captain's attention on him like that, and hurried to an empty Ops station. A quick look at the data scrolling before him told him that there were a full half-dozen advance ships out, so as the eighth member of the Ops crew he would be responsible for filling in as necessary.

There were two dozen standing Ops stations, and another bank of twelve recliners for the Battle Ops, but he had never seen more than twenty stations being used at a time, and that was when his training class had stood duty shifts for a week before going on the roster. Rumor said there were still a couple Battle Ops pairs on the _Konoha_ , but he had never met anyone who could personally attest to having seen those stations in use.

His instructors had made it clear that they were hoping that, among the students just now entering the schoolrooms--the children born in the year surrounding the _Konoha's_ catastrophic encounter with the Kyuubi storm--there would be more than one new Battle Ops pair. Iruka figured he wouldn't have to worry about it much--other than making sure any possible candidates were on the same genin team, he would be handling basics, not battle training, and he expected he'd be teaching the youngest children for a while at that.

His Ops shift started much as usual. He swapped in when someone needed a break, provided a second eye for one of the newer Ops when an advance ship rode the edge of the signal envelope, and tried to make sense of what the top-ranked pilots (Maito and Hatake, this shift) were doing. He'd stood Ops for Maito several times, but he was happy to let the more senior members of the shift deal with Hatake. He'd heard some of the most senior Ops cursing the pilot for ignoring their advice. Rumor had it that Hatake rode entire shifts outside the envelope, that his ship could go for days separated from the _Konoha_. When Iruka first heard that, he thought that Hatake might be half of one of the those rumored Battle Ops pairs, but the empty stations proved that wasn't true.

"Ops to Hatake," a voice next to Iruka said. "Come in, Hatake." There was a long pause. "Damn, he's out of range."

Iruka nodded sympathetically and turned his attention back to the station he was currently running.

A few minutes later, when Iruka was again available, his neighbor asked, "Can you keep an eye on my station for a few minutes? I doubt Hatake will be back on comms, so it shouldn't take too much attention."

Iruka nodded and had barely logged into the station when the comm beeped at him and then started scrolling with incoming data. "Ops to Hatake," he said, "I'm receiving data. To whom should I direct it?"

"You're not the Op I had earlier. Who is this?"

Iruka sighed. "Umino Iruka; I'm covering a break for your assigned Op. To whom should I direct the data?"

"Broadcast it to the pilots, and you should let the Hokage know. Hatake out."

"Do not leave the envelope until I've verified the data transfer," Iruka snapped, doubting that his request would be obeyed.

"Sorry, I've got a meeting with a target."

Iruka gritted his teeth. Pilots had a bad habit of not waiting for data transfer verification. Meanwhile his eyes followed the flight data at his station, the small blip that marked Hatake's ship passing to the edge of the screen that marked the signal envelope. Then the image before his eyes shifted, following Hatake's ship. That wasn't supposed to happen. That wasn't supposed to be possible. But Iruka's job was to track his assigned pilot, not to worry about why he was receiving data from outside the signal envelope, so he kept talking to Hatake.

He wasn't aware of the shift commander's shout for help, nor of the arrival of the Hokage, nor of the people moving him from the standing Ops station to one of the dozen couches nearer the center of the bridge.

* * *

When Hatake Kakashi dropped back into the envelope surrounding the _Konoha_ , he planned to stay just long enough for the data about the pirates he had found to transfer to the main ship. He didn't recognize the voice or name of the Op who responded. It didn't matter; he delivered his message and ignored the expected request to not leave the signal envelope. Ops always insisted on taking the time for verification, and he'd never heard of a data transfer that hadn't worked the first time.

"Sorry," he sang, as he pushed his ship back toward the pirates, knowing that Gai would be only a second or two behind him, "I've got a meeting with a target. I'm going back out." He knew his comment would have been cut off when his ship crossed the edge of the signal envelope, and he didn't particularly care. Ops were a necessary bane of a pilot's existence.

"Umm.... You're already out, according to my station data--though I still have tracking and am now seeing blips for additional ships."

Kakashi froze. Before him, the pirates began to move as they became aware of his presence, and he automatically started to track those to starboard.

"Don't you think it would be better to deal with the three to port first?"

Kakashi didn't bother responding. Yes, it would be better, he thought, except Asuma and Kurenai would leave the two newest pilots with the _Konoha_ and follow Gai into this fight, and they tended to pull to port, so he needed to keep out of their way.

"Oh, that makes sense."

Kakashi scowled at his instrument panel. "It's a telepathic bond," he remembered Kushina explaining one night early in his pilot training, when everyone assumed he'd have a bonded partner sooner rather than later. "Bonded pilots have two responsibilities, flying and letting their Op see the data. The trick is tamping down access to the rest of your thoughts." Kakashi raised the mental walls his mother had taught him to create. The poor kid--Iruka, he should use his name--on the other end of this didn't need a memory of Minato's blank-eyed stare when Kushina's advance ship was swallowed by the Kyuubi. He had three responsibilities now: to keep an eye on his instruments, to carry out any necessary attacks, and to protect his unexpected partner.

"Iruka?" Actually talking made it easier to keep the walls up.

"Yes?"

"Do you know what's happening?" Kakashi fired on the pirate who ventured too close to his position.

"The enemy is trying a pincher movement on the blue blip."

That wasn't what he meant, but a quick glance at his panel confirmed the statement. Iruka apparently didn't need Kakashi to consciously recognize what was going on to receive the data. "Gai," he said, hitting the ship-to-ship communicator, "you've got a couple trying to get you in a pincher." He realized that he couldn't carry on verbal conversations with both Iruka and his fellow pilots, so he added silently, _Gai's blue, Asuma's red, and Kurenai's bright green; let me know if you see anything else I should pass along._

"Oh, O.K. And I have no idea what's going on. I didn't think the Ops stations could read outside the envelope. I don't know why they didn't tell us about this."

_Ops stations can't read this far; you're using my ship's data. And just think at me; you don't have to say it aloud._

"Thanks, Kakashi!" Gai's voice boomed over the comm. "How did you notice them during your own engagement?"

"I've got a tag-a-long with good eyes," Kakashi responded.

"What?"

_I resent 'tag-a-long.' Like that?_

_Yeah, like that._

Kakashi sighed, made sure he was broadcasting to all three of the other ships and that his connection to Iruka was open. "Battle Op. We seem to have bonded as I was crossing back out, so we'll concentrate on intel for this one."

_Battle Op! I can't be a Battle Op! They tried our entire age group and didn't get any hits!_

_Sorry, Iruka. The universe decided to promote you._

_Bonds only happen between people of approximately the same age!_

_I'm maybe five years older than you--and pay attention to the data or neither of us is going to get any older!_

He felt an echo of surprise, followed by a surprisingly comforting silence. For the first time since he completed training, Kakashi didn't feel alone in his ship.

* * *

Iruka was only vaguely aware that he was now ensconced in one of the Battle Op stations, too busy following the progress of the fight through the data coming to him from Kakashi's flight recorders to worry about his surroundings. It was odd, running Ops for four pilots when he'd never stood Ops for more than two, and that rarely. But it was easy--if he saw something, he could simply think it at Kakashi, rather than having to take the time to form the words for each pilot. And then the screens cleared of everything except for their own blips.

Iruka dragged his eyes open to find the Hokage and the senior ship's doctor watching him. "It's over. They're coming back in."

"Thank you, Iruka," said the Hokage.

The doctor reached for Iruka while gesturing for one of her staff to approach his other side. "Tell the brat we're going to Medical and that he'd better make it himself."

Iruka blinked at her, about to ask who she meant by "brat," when Kakashi supplied several images of her calling him just that. "Yes, ma'am. He's gotten the message."

"Good," the doctor said with a smile as they lowered him on to a stretcher. "You need to sleep now. I'll let you wake up when Kakashi is back." Iruka barely felt the sting of the needle.

* * *

When Iruka next became aware, he was lying in a bed. He kept his eyes shut, trying to figure out where he was.

"You might as well open your eyes," said a recently familiar voice, in his ears, not his mind.

Iruka did open his eyes, turning his head to look at the man seated in the room's only chair. He hadn't been expecting the shock of white hair, so he stared for a moment before realizing that the pilot had extended his hand.

"I'm Kakashi. Pleased to meet you."

Iruka extended his own hand, "Iruka. Likewise."

The nurse passing by the room smiled at the laughter that came through the door.


End file.
